Multiple part spline for closing side seams of can bodies



ODIES E. GEDDE May 24, 1955 MULTIPLE PART SPLINE FOR CLOSING SIDE SEAMS OF CAN B Filed D60. 18, 1951 INVENTOR.

E'E/K 65.00;

ATTQQ/VEYS United States Patent MULTIPLE PART SPLlNE FOR CLOSING SIDE SEAMS 0F CAN BODIES Erik Gedde, Park Ridge, 11]., assignor to American Can Fompany, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New ersey Application December 18, 1951, Serial No. 262,291 1 Claim. (Cl. 11312) able toward and away from the can body holding mandrel. During this bumping operation the inside of the seam portions of bodies are backed up by a spline which functions as an anvil. For lock and lap side seams where the ends. of the seams contain only two lapped thicknesses of body material as compared with four thicknesses for the intervening lock sections, the spline is notched or cut away at the twolap sections and these notches carry hardened steel inserts which are shaped and dimensioned to compensate for the difierence in the number of thicknesses of body material in the seams. It has been found that under the strain of repeated hammer blows to which these splines are subjected excessive breakage of the splines takes place at the inserts.

Heretofore these splines, except for the hardened steel inserts, have been made of a single piece. This meant that when a. spline broke it had to be replaced completely. This was highly uneconomical. No one dared to even suggest that the spline body could be made of a plurality of pieces so that only one piece at a time need be replaced until the present invention came along, because it was generally assumed that such a composite spline could not withstand repeated hammer blows.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved side seam bumping spline or anvil for can body making machines made of three separate interengaging sections i. e. a central body section and separate end members, the latter including the usual lap bumping sections of the spline, to strengthen the spline against excessive breakage.

Another object is the provision of such a spline wherein the end members which are especially subject to wear and tear are made detachable so that these parts of the spline may be readily replaced when they become worn or torn without wasting the entire spline.

Another object is the provision of such a multiple part or composite spline which is economical to produce and in which the several parts of the spline may be made of different materials in accordance with their required strength and hardness.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a diagrammatic fragmentary elevation of principal parts at the bumping station of a can body making machine, the view showing the location of the bumping spline embodying the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the multiple part bumping spline of the instant invention, with a part broken away;

Fig. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the spline parts shown in Fig. 2, with a part broken away; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in Fig. l, with the bumping hammer in bumping position against the side seam of a can body.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate principal parts of the bumping station of a can body making machine, including an improved bumping spline A (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) for bumping together or interlocking side seam hooks B, C of a tubular sheet metal can or container body D to provide a conventional lock and lap side seam E for holding the body together. During the bumping opera: tion the can body D is supported on a mandrel or horn 11 (Fig. 1) which in turn is supported in a frame 12 which constitutes a part of the can body making machine. The bumping or" the can body hooks B, C to produce the side seam E preferably is effected by a bumping hammer 14 which is reciprocated in any suitable manner toward and awayfrom the horn 11. This is a usual or conventional mechanism utilized in can making pracme.

The spline A utilized for backing up the interior of the can body D at the side seam E during the bumping operation, is located in a longitudinal groove 16 of substantially square contour formed in the bottom of the mandrel 11 directly opposite the bumping hammer 14. The spline is square in configuration and is held in place in the groove 16 for example by a longitudinal tongue and groove connection which includes a tongue 17 formed in the mandrel 11 adjacent one of the vertical sides of the square groove 16 (at the left as viewed in Fig. 4) and projecting into the groove 16.

The spline A is preferably made in three parts which consists of a centrally located body or lock section 21 and two end members or lap sections 22, 23 as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The spline and its parts are shown in these figures with the bumping face 25 turned upwardly and end for end relative to its position in Fig. 1 to better show the construction of the lower or bumping face 25 required to bump a lock and lap side seam.

The conventional lock and lap side seam, well known in the can making art, comprises for its major portion intermediate its ends, four layers or thicknesses of material as best shown in Fig. 4. At its ends, the seam is reduced for a short distance to two overlapped thicknesses to facilitate subsequent flanging of the can body for the reception of a closure member. In order to compensate for this difference in thickness of the seam at these various points, the bumping face of the body or lock section of the spline is formed with a longitudinal shoulder 26 which extends along one side of the lock section of the spline for its full length and which sets off the face of the spline as a step 27 having a depth sufhcient to accommodate three thicknesses of the body material as shown in Fig. 4. A groove 28 in the side of this spline section is provided for cooperative reception of the tongue 17 in the horn to lock the spline in place in the horn.

The end members or lap sections 22, 23 of the spline A are of the same square configuration as the lock section 21 and are provided with side grooves 31, 32 which are aligned continuations of the groove 28 in the lock section for securing the spline in the horn. These lap sections 22, 23 are also formed with longitudinal shoulders 33, 34 which align with and form continuations of the shoulder 26 in the lock section 21. The top face of the shoulders as viewed in Fig. 3 are flush with the top face of the shoulder 26. Each of the lap sections 22, 23 are further formed with bumping faces 35, 36 which are spaced from the top face of the shoulders 33, 34 a distance substantially equal to two thicknesses of the body material as shown in Fig. 4. The difference in elevation of the faces 35, 36 and the face 25 is compensated for by beveled edges 37, 38 on the lap sections 22, 23 to provide for gradual sloping of the seam from the four thickness lock section to the two thickness lap sections.

When the end members or lap sections 22, 23 are assembled with the lock section 21 as shown in Fig. 3, they provide exactly aligned continuations of the lock section. These end members are secured to the ends of the lock section 21 by screws 41 which extend through longitudinal bores 42 (Fig. 2) in the end members and are threadedly engaged in the ends of the spline body or lock section 21. Shouldered heads 43 on the outer ends of the screws 41 clamp the end members tightly against the ends of the body member and thus hold the end members against displacement. The bores 42 in the end members 22, 23 are of a diameter just sufficient to permit passage of the screws therethrough and thus serve as a media for supporting the end members on the screws, as well as for aligning the spline parts. The bumping thrust or force against the end members during the bumping operation is taken by the horn and not by the screws 41.

With such a construction of spline, the end members 22, 23 may be readily removed when desired, and replaced with other end members by a mere removal and replacement of the screws 41. Thus worn parts of the spline may be easily replaced. Such a construction also facilitates economic manufacture of the spline parts and greatly reduces cost of manufacture and assemblage and provides for parts of greater strength which greatly reduces breakage of the splines.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

1 claim:

In a can body making machine of the type wherein a can body blank is supported on a mandrel and the opposite marginal edges of the blank are partly overlapped and partly interhooked and then bumped between a hammer and said mandrel to form a side seam having lapped end portions and an intermediate locked portion, the combination with said mandrel of a composite spline closely fitted and supported in a groove formed in said mandrel and disposed in opposition to said hammer, said spline comprising a central longitudinal body section of major length, an end section of lesser length disposed longitudinally adjacent each end of said central body section, said central body section having a longitudinally extending seam forming face for cooperating with said hammer to receive and close a side seam section, each of said end sections having a longitudinally extending seam forming face disposed in a different plane than said central body section forming face for cooperating with said hammer to receive and close a thinner side seam section, and means extending longitudinally of said end sections and said central body section for securing said sections together in a tightly composite unit and for holding their seam forming faces in longitudinally aligned relation, whereby any of said body and end sections of the composite spline may be readily disassembled for replacement of one or more of said sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 286,283 Dolan Oct. 9, 1883 372,262 Hart Oct. 25, 1887 420,912 Morningstar Feb. 4, 1890 445,740 Walsh Feb. 3, 1891 560,515 Mason May 19, 1896 850,614 Bingham Apr. 16, 1907 921,974 Ginsburg May 18, 1909 927,184 Steiber July 6, 1909 978,308 Kohke Dec. 13, 1910 1,867,857 Meyers July 19, 1932 2,563,805 Adamson Aug. 14, 1951 

